Central Track Squads Make Final Push for National Meet Qualifiers

The Central College men’s and women’s track and field squads came away with several strong marks in their last attempt to qualify for the Division III indoor championships. Perhaps the biggest statement came from Kyle Wood in the 400 meters. The two-time indoor Iowa Conference champion in the event came up with a big personal best of 49.1 seconds to place second behind last year’s national champion, Dan Benton of North Central. That mark currently ranks him 10th in Division III. Wood also led off the 4×400 relay team of Allen Scovel, Trevor Veach, and Mason Zimmerman to a season’s best time of 3:19.78.

Meanwhile, the women’s 4×400 relay team of Rachel Northrup, Felicia Coleman, Rachel Purdy, and Miranda Wehde also put up a season’s best mark of 3:59.04. Other notable performances included strong efforts by the men in the 1600 meter run, 5,000 meters, 200 meters and the weight throw. The Dutch will now wait and see how many qualifiers will be accepted into the Division III national championships hosted by Grinnell College March 9-10. The fields will be announced Sunday.